One Day Wonder #269

For 2 horns, 2 trumpets, 1 trombone and tuba.

Like #268, this piece also has a singular function: to go fast. And to achieve that, I have the first trumpet doing a lot of thrashing around. After that’s done, the horns take over, and – yes, you’re hearing it right – is a little mini-palindrome operation in the middle of that action. The A theme returns with more instruments joining in, then I resurrect the B theme, this time with the trombone and tuba playing a different melody. The A theme once again rounds things out and we’re done. Wasn’t that a lot of fun? I have to say that the last two weeks have been pretty awful. This project seems to never want to end. I’ve been pushing the same boulder up the hill since last April. But now, all of a sudden, the end is in sight. To make things even better, I’m managing to turn out some good pieces. This is one of them. Hopefully, I’ve put those days of absolutely zero ideas behind me. That was a very miserable time, but surprisingly, it also yielded some fine pieces. It’s not a question of believing in oneself. That’s the stuff of silly Hollywood movies and afterschool specials. Operating on this level, either you write music or you don’t. Belief in self has very little to do with it. But you have to feel good about what you’re writing. Otherwise, what’s the point? So finally, the end is in sight. By my calculations, I should be done sometime around March 5th. Soon after that, I’m going to rent a car and take a road trip. I’m totally sick of Seattle, in particular, Belltown. This place can be such a pit sometimes, replete with crazy people, crack smokers and scary drunks. I’ve never been to the South. I think I’ll go there. I know that they have crazy people, crack smokers and scary drunks down there, too, but they might be different from what we’ve got here. Anyhow, when I come back, I’ll take on a new project. It might be very big or it might be a scaled-down piece-a-day venture. Writing all this music has done great things for my chops, but 300 pieces is a little excessive. I also might have to get myself a job, but I’m trying not to think about that eventuality too much.